Game machine, game machine control method, and information storage medium

ABSTRACT

A game machine provides for a game player to relatively readily determine the position of a teammate player object. A position announcing sound data storage unit stores position announcing sound data in association with a relative position condition concerning the relative position of the teammate player object relative to the position and reference direction of the operation target player object. A relative position determination unit determines whether the relative position of the teammate player object selected by the position announcement target selection unit, relative to the position and reference direction of the operation target player object, satisfies the relative position condition associated with the position announcing sound data. A position announcing sound output control unit controls a sound output unit to output a sound based on the position announcing sound data associated with the relative position condition determined by the relative position determination unit as satisfying the relative position condition.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a game machine, a game machine controlmethod, and an information storage medium.

BACKGROUND ART

There is known a game machine for displaying a game screen image showinga picture obtained by viewing, from a predetermined viewpoint, a virtualthree dimensional space where an operation target player object whichmoves according to an operation carried out by a game player, aplurality of teammate player objects belonging to the same team as theteam to which the operation target player object belongs, and opponentplayer objects belonging to an opponent team are placed, to therebyprovide a sport game to be played by the team to which the operationtarget player object belongs, and the opponent team. One example of suchgame machines is one which provides a soccer game, an ice hockey game,and so forth.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2005-342120

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

On a game screen for the above-described sport game, in general, only apart of the virtual three dimensional space, but not the entiretythereof, is shown, and thus some of the teammate player objects may notbe shown on the game screen. Therefore, the game player may not fullycomprehend the positions of all teammate player objects, andconsequently may have a problem, when controlling the operation targetplayer object so as to pass the ball to a teammate player object, indeciding in which direction the ball should be passed. This is addressedin the aforementioned conventional sport game by showing on the gamescreen a so-called radar image representative of the placement of theplayer objects in the virtual three dimensional space (the entire field)so that the game player can comprehend the positions of the teammate andopponent player objects. However, operating the operation target playerobject while looking at the radar image is not easy for the game player(more particularly, a less trained player).

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above, and aimsto provide a game machine, a game machine control method, and aninformation storage medium for allowing a game player to relativelyreadily comprehend the positions of the teammate player objects.

Means for Solving the Problems

In order to address the above-described problem, according to one aspectof the present invention there is provided a game machine for displayinga game screen image showing a picture obtained by viewing from apredetermined viewpoint a virtual three dimensional space where anoperation target player object which moves according to an operationcarried out by a game player and a plurality of teammate player objectsbelonging to the same team as a team to which the operation targetplayer object belongs are placed, to thereby provide a sport game to beplayed by the team to which the operation target player object belongsand an opponent team, comprising position announcing sound data storagemeans for storing position announcing sound data in association with arelative position condition concerning a relative position of theteammate player object relative to a position and a reference directionof the operation target player object; position announcement targetselection means for selecting a position announcement target teammateplayer object from among the plurality of teammate player objects;relative position determination means for determining whether or not therelative position of the teammate player object selected by the positionannouncement target selection means relative to the position andreference direction of the operation target player object satisfies therelative position condition associated with the position announcingsound data; and position announcing sound output control means forreading position announcing sound data associated with the relativeposition condition which is determined by the relative positiondetermination means as satisfying the relative position condition, fromthe position announcing sound data storage means, and controlling so asto output a sound based on the position announcing sound data read.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is providedgame machine control method for controlling a game machine fordisplaying a game screen image showing a picture obtained by viewingfrom a predetermined viewpoint a virtual three dimensional space wherean operation target player object which moves according to an operationcarried out by a game player and a plurality of teammate player objectsbelonging to the same team as a team to which the operation targetplayer object belongs are placed, to thereby provide a sport game to beplayed by the team to which the operation target player object belongsand an opponent team, comprising a position announcement targetselection step of selecting a teammate player object as a positionannouncement target from among the plurality of teammate player objects;a relative position determination step of determining whether or not arelative position of the teammate player object selected at the positionannouncement target selection step, relative to a position and areference direction of the operation target player object, satisfies arelative position condition associated with position announcing sounddata stored in position announcing sound data storage means for storingthe position announcing sound data in association with the relativeposition condition concerning the relative position of the teammateplayer object relative to the position and reference direction of theoperation target player object; and a position announcing sound outputcontrol step of reading position announcing sound data associated withthe relative position condition which is determined at the relativeposition determination step as satisfying the relative positioncondition, from the position announcing sound data storage means, andcontrolling sound output means so as to output a sound based on theposition announcing sound data read.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a computer readable information storage medium recording aprogram causing a computer, including, for example, a consumer gamemachine, a commercial game machine, a portable game machine, a portablephone, a personal computer, a server computer, or the like, to operateas a game machine for displaying a game screen image showing a pictureobtained by viewing from a predetermined viewpoint a virtual threedimensional space where an operation target player object which movesaccording to an operation carried out by a game player and a pluralityof teammate player objects belonging to the same team as a team to whichthe operation target player object belongs are placed, to therebyprovide a sport game to be played by the team to which the operationtarget player object belongs and an opponent team, the computeroperating as position announcing sound data storage means for storingposition announcing sound data in association with a relative positioncondition concerning a relative position of the teammate player objectrelative to a position and a reference direction of the operation targetplayer object; position announcement target selection means forselecting a position announcement target teammate player object fromamong the plurality of teammate player objects; relative positiondetermination means for determining whether or not the relative positionof the teammate player object selected by the position announcementtarget selection means, relative to the position and reference directionof the operation target player object, satisfies the relative positioncondition associated with the position announcing sound data; andposition announcing sound output control means for reading positionannouncing sound data associated with the relative position conditionwhich is determined by the relative position determination means assatisfying the relative position condition, from the position announcingsound data storage means, and controlling so as to output a sound basedon the position announcing sound data read.

Also, the information storage medium according to the present inventionmay be a computer readable information storage medium where the abovedescribed program is recorded. The program distribution device accordingto the present invention may be a program distribution device having aninformation storage medium where the above described program isrecorded, for reading the above described program from the informationstorage medium, and distributing the program. Also, the programdistribution method according to the present invention may be a programdistribution method, using an information storage medium where the abovedescribed program is recorded, for reading the above described programfrom the information storage medium, and distributing the program.

The present invention relates to a game machine for displaying a gamescreen image showing a picture obtained by viewing from a predeterminedviewpoint a virtual three dimensional space where an operation targetplayer object which moves according to an operation carried out by agame player and a plurality of teammate player objects belonging to thesame team as the team to which the operation target player objectbelongs are placed, to thereby provide a sport game to be played by theteam to which the operation target player object belongs, and anopponent team. According to the present invention, position announcingsound data is stored in association with a relative position conditionconcerning a relative position of the teammate player object relative tothe position and reference direction of the operation target playerobject. Also, according to the present invention, a positionannouncement target teammate player object is selected from among theplurality of teammate player objects. It is then determined whether ornot the relative position of that teammate player object relative to theposition and reference direction of the operation target player objectsatisfies the relative position condition associated with the positionannouncing sound data. Then, position announcing sound data is readbased on the result of the determination, and a sound based on theposition announcing sound data is output. According to the presentinvention, the game player can relatively readily comprehend theposition of the teammate player object.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the viewpoint may moveaccording to movement of the operation target player object, and therelative position condition may include a condition concerning whetheror not the teammate player object is shown on the game screen. With theabove, different position announcing sound data can be output in caseswhere the position announcement target teammate player object is shown,and is not shown, on the game screen image, respectively.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an opponent player objectbelonging to the opponent team may be placed in the virtual threedimensional space, and the position announcement target selection meansmay determine whether or not to select the teammate player object as aposition announcement target, based on the position of the teammateplayer object and that of the opponent player object. With the above, itis possible to arrange such that the game player can relatively readilycomprehend the position of the teammate player object selected based onthe positions of the teammate player object and the opponent playerobject. For example, it is possible to arrange such that the game playercan relatively readily comprehend the position of the teammate playerobject with no opponent player object present nearby.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware structure of a game machineaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing one example of a controller;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one example of a virtual threedimensional space;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing one example of the positions of playerobjects and a game screen image;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing one example of the positions of the playerobjects and a game screen image;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing one example of the positions of the playerobjects and a game screen image;

FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the game machine according tothis embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing one example of content stored in a positionannouncing sound data storage unit;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process to be carried out in the gamemachine;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a process to be carried out in the gamemachine;

FIG. 11 is one example of a relative area relative to the referenceposition and reference direction of an operation target player object;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another example of content stored in theposition announcing sound data storage unit; and

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an overall structure of a programdistribution system according to another embodiment of the presentinvention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In the following, one example of an embodiment of the present inventionwill be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware structure of a game machineaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. The shown gamemachine 10 comprises a consumer game machine 11 having a DVD-ROM 25 anda memory card 28, or information storage media, mounted thereto, and amonitor 18 and a speaker 22 connected thereto. For example, the monitor18 may be a home-use television set receiver, and the speaker 22 may bea built-in speaker thereof.

The consumer game machine 11 is a publicly known computer game systemcomprising a bus 12, a microprocessor 14, an image processing unit 16, asound processing unit 20, a DVD-ROM reproduction unit 24, a main memory26, an input/output processing unit 30, and a controller 32. Therespective structural elements other than the controller 32 areaccommodated in an enclosure.

The bus 12 is used for exchanging an address and/or data among therespective units of the consumer game machine 11. The microprocessor 14,the image processing unit 16, the main memory 26, and the input/outputprocessing unit 30 are connected via the bus 12 for data exchange.

The microprocessor 14 controls the respective units of the consumer gamemachine 11, based on an operation system stored in a ROM (not shown), aprogram read from the DVD-ROM 25, and data read from the memory card 28.The main memory 26 comprises a RAM, for example, into which the programread from the DVD-ROM 25 and/or data read from the memory card 28 iswritten when required. The main memory 26 is used also as a workingmemory of the microprocessor 14.

The image processing unit 16, which comprises a VRAM, renders a gamescreen image into the VRAM, based on the image data sent from themicroprocessor 14, then converts the content of the rendered game screenimage into a video signal, and outputs the video signal to the monitor18 at a predetermined timing.

The input/output processing unit 30 is an interface via which themicroprocessor 14 accesses the sound processing unit 20, the DVD-ROMreproduction unit 24, the memory card 28, and the controller 32. Thesound processing unit 20, the DVD-ROM reproduction unit 24, the memorycard 28, and the controller 32 are connected to the input/outputprocessing unit 30.

The sound processing unit 20, which comprises a sound buffer, reproducesvarious sound data, such as game music, game sound effects, a message,and so forth, which is read from the DVD-ROM 25 and stored in the soundbuffer, and outputs via the speaker 22.

The DVD-ROM reproduction unit 24 reads a program recorded in the DVD-ROM25 according to an instruction sent from the microprocessor 14. Itshould be noted that although the DVD-ROM 25 is used here to provide aprogram to the consumer game machine 11, any other information storagemedium, such as a CD-ROM, a ROM card, or the like, may be used.Alternatively, a program may be provided via a data communicationnetwork, such as the Internet, or the like, from a remote place to theconsumer game machine 11.

The memory card 28 comprises a nonvolatile memory (for example, EEPROM,or the like). The consumer game machine 11 has a plurality of memorycard slots defined therein each for accepting a memory card 28, so thata plurality of memory cards 28 can be inserted into the consumer gamemachine 11 at the same time. The memory card 28 is removable from theslot and stores various game data, such as saved data, or the like.

The controller 32 is a general purpose operation input means forinputting various game operations by the game player. The input/outputprocessing unit 30 scans the states of the respective units of thecontroller 32 in a constant cycle (every 1/60^(th) of a second, forexample) and sends an operation signal describing the scanning result tothe microprocessor 14 via the bus 12. The microprocessor 14 determinesthe game operation carried out by the game player, based on an operationsignal. The consumer game machine 11 is adapted to connection to aplurality of controllers 32. The microprocessor 14 controls a game,based on the operation signals input from the respective controllers 32.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing one example of the controller 32. The showncontroller 32 is a general-purpose game controller. The controller 32has, as shown in FIG. 2( a), a direction button 34, a start button 36,buttons 38X, 38Y, 38A, 38B, all provided on the front surface thereof,and as shown in FIG. 2( b), the buttons 42L, 42R, provided on the leftand right sides, respectively, of the lateral surface thereof closer tothe front surface 32 a, and the buttons 40L, 40R similarly provided butcloser to the rear surface. The direction button 34 is a cross shapedbutton generally used to designate a direction in which to move thecharacter and/or cursor. The start button 36 is a small triangle pressbutton generally used to start and/or forcibly end the game. The buttons38X, 38Y, 38A, 38B, 40L, 40R, 42L, 42R are used for other gameoperations.

In the game machine 10 having the above-described hardware structure,the game player (or the user) operates the player objects (a playercharacter object representative of a soccer player) belonging to anoperation target team (hereinafter referred to as a player team) suchthat a soccer game is carried out aiming to produce more score eventsthan the opponent team. The soccer game is realized by executing asoccer game program read from the DVD-ROM 25.

In the game machine 10, with the aforementioned program executed, avirtual three-dimensional space (a game space) is created in the mainmemory 26. FIG. 3 shows one example of a virtual three dimensional spacecreated in the main memory 26. As shown in FIG. 3, in the virtual threedimensional space 50, a field object 52 and goal objects 54representative of a soccer play ground are placed, constituting a soccergame field.

Player objects 56 and a ball object 62 representative of a soccer ballare placed on the field object 52. Although only one player object 56 isshown in FIG. 3, twenty-one other player objects 56 are placed on thefield object 52. The player object 56 is associated with either theplayer team or the opponent team.

Any of the player objects 56 belonging the player team is operated as aplayer to be operated by the game player. The position and posture ofthe player 56 (hereinafter referred to as an operation target playerobject) to be operated by the game player in the virtual threedimensional space 50 vary according to an operation signal input fromthe controller 32.

For example, with the game player pressing either the upper or lowerdirection instructing unit of the direction button 34, the operationtarget player object moves forward or backward. With the game playerpressing either the left or right direction instructing unit of thedirection button 34, the operation target player object changes the bodyorientation thereof so as to face in the instructed direction.

As the operation target player object approaches the ball object 62, theoperation target player object is associated with the ball object 62under a predetermined condition, with the ball object 62 thereaftermoving according to movement of that player object 58. This isrepresented by the player object 58 dribbling the ball object 62, shownon the monitor 18. With the game player then pressing either a passinstruction button (the button 38A, for example) or a shoot instructionbutton (the button 38X), together with the direction button 34, theoperation target player object passes or shoots the ball. In this case,the ball is passed or shot in the direction corresponding to theoperation carried out with the direction button 34. For example, whenthe game player presses the pass instruction button while pressing theleft direction instructing unit of the direction button 34, the ball ispassed to the left from the point of view of the operation target playercharacter.

The player objects 56 (hereinafter referred to as teammate playerobjects) other than the operation target player object among the playerobjects 56 belonging to the player team and the player objects 56(hereinafter referred to as opponent player objects) belonging to theopponent team are automatically controlled by the computer according toa predetermined algorithm. It should be noted that it may be arrangedsuch that a plurality of game players may cooperatively control theplayer team, and that in such a case, at least one teammate playerobject is operated as an operation target player object of another gameplayer, moving according to the operation made by that game player.

A virtual camera 64 is placed in the virtual three dimensional space 50.The virtual camera 64 moves according to movement of the operationtarget player object. In this embodiment, the position (a viewpointposition) of the virtual camera 64 is located behind the operationtarget player object, specifically, at a position having a predeterminedpositional relationship with the reference position 58 of the operationtarget player object. Further, the direction (a sight direction) of thevirtual camera 64 is set directed in the direction same as the referencedirection 60 (front direction) of the operation target player object. Agame screen image representative of a picture obtained by viewing thevirtual three dimensional space 50 from the virtual camera 64 is shownon the monitor 18. That is, a game screen image representative of apicture obtained by viewing the virtual three dimensional space 50 frombehind the operation target player object, that is, a so-called rearviewpoint game screen image, is shown in this embodiment. It should benoted that the position, posture, and so forth of the virtual camera 64may be set such that a game screen image with a so-called first or thirdperson viewpoint maybe shown on the monitor 18.

When the virtual camera 64, the operation target player object 56 a, theteammate player objects 56 b, 56 c, and the opponent player object 56 dare placed as shown in FIG. 4( a), for example, a game screen image suchas is shown in FIG. 4( b), for example, is shown on the monitor 18. InFIG. 4( a), the dotted line represents the view field range of thevirtual camera 64.

When the virtual camera 64, the operation target player object 56 a, theteammate player objects 56 b, 56 c, and the opponent player object 56 dare placed as shown in FIG. 5( a), for example, the game screen imagesuch as is shown in FIG. 5( b), for example, is shown on the monitor 18.In this case, the teammate player object 56 b and the opponent playerobject 56 d are located outside the view field range, and thus not shownon the game screen.

When the virtual camera 64, the operation target player object 56 a, theteammate player objects 56 b, 56 c, and the opponent player object 56 dare placed as shown in FIG. 6( a), for example, the game screen imagesuch as is shown in FIG. 6( b), for example, is shown on the monitor 18.In this case, the teammate player objects 56 b and 56 c are locatedoutside the view field range, and thus not shown on the game screen.

In this embodiment, when there is a teammate player object having noopponent player object present therearound, the relative position ofthat teammate player object relative to the reference position 58 andreference direction 60 of the operation target player object isannounced by a sound.

For example, in the situations shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, as there is noopponent player object 56 d around the teammate player object 56 b, asound announcing the relative position of the teammate player object 56b is output. For example, in the situation shown in FIG. 4, a sound“pass to the left!” is output via the speaker 22. In the state shown inFIG. 5, for example, a sound “long pass to the left!” is output via thespeaker 22. In the situation shown in FIG. 5, as no teammate playerobject 56 b is shown on the game screen, different from the situationshown in FIG. 4, a sound announcing differently from that in FIG. 4 isoutput. Similarly, in the situation shown in FIG. 6, for example, asound “long pass to the right!” is output via the speaker 22.

When a teammate player object with no opponent player object presentnearby is located behind the operation target player object, a sound“pass behind!” is output via the speaker 22.

As described above, in the game machine 10, when there is a teammateplayer object with no opponent player object present nearby, a soundannouncing the relative position of that teammate player object relativeto the reference position 58 and reference direction 60 of the operationtarget player object is output. Thus, the game player can relativelyreadily know the relative position of a teammate player object with noopponent player object present nearby, and can smoothly control theoperation target player object so as to pass the ball to that teammateplayer object, for example.

In the following, a structure for realizing the above-mentionedfunctions will be described. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagramshowing the functions according to the present invention among thoserealized in the game machine 10. As shown in FIG. 7, the game machine 10comprises, in terms of functions, a game situation information storageunit 70, a position announcing sound data storage unit 72, a positionannouncement target selection unit 74, a relative position determinationunit 76, a position announcing sound output control unit 78, and a soundoutput unit 80. These functions are realized by the microprocessor 14executing a program supplied from the DVD-ROM 25 or transmitted via anetwork.

[Game Situation Information Storage Unit]

The game situation information storage unit 70 is realized using themain memory 26 as a main component. The game situation informationstorage unit 70 stores game situation information which describes gamesituation. For example, information describing the states (position,posture, movement direction, moving speed, whether or not the ballobject 62 is being held, kind and position of motion data inreproduction, and so forth) of the respective player objects 56 and that(position, movement direction, moving speed, and so forth) of the ballobject 62 placed in the virtual three dimensional space 50 is stored inthe game situation information storage unit 70. The content stored inthe game situation information storage unit 70 is updated based on theoperation carried out to the controller 32, for example.

[Position Announcing Sound Data Storage Unit]

The position announcing sound data storage unit 72 is realized using theDVD-ROM 25 as a main element. The position announcing sound data storageunit 72 stores position announcing sound data in association with arelative position condition concerning the relative position of ateammate player object relative to the reference position 58 andreference direction 60 of the operation target player object. FIG. 8shows one example of content stored in the position announcing sounddata storage unit 72.

[Position Announcement Target Selection Unit]

The position announcement target selection unit 74 is realized using themicroprocessor 14 as a main component. The position announcement targetselection unit 74 selects a position announcement target teammate playerobject from among the teammate player objects placed in the virtualthree dimensional space 50. In this embodiment, the positionannouncement target selection unit 74 selects, as a positionannouncement target player object, a teammate player object with noopponent player object present nearby from among those placed in thevirtual three dimensional space 50. That is, whether or not to select acertain teammate player object as a position announcement target isdetermined based on the positions of that teammate player and positionsof the opponent player objects.

[Relative Position Determination Unit]

The relative position determination unit 76 is realized using themicroprocessor 14 as a main component. The relative positiondetermination unit 76 determines whether or not the “relative positionof a teammate player object selected by the position announcement targetselection unit 74 relative to the reference position 58 and referencedirection 60 of the operation target player object” satisfies therelative position condition associated with the position announcingsound data stored in the position announcing sound data storage unit 72.

[Position Announcing Sound Output Control Unit and Sound Output Unit]

The position announcing sound output control unit 78 is realized usingthe microprocessor 14 and the sound processing unit 20 as maincomponents. The sound output unit 80 is realized using the speaker 22 asa main component. The position announcing sound output control unit 78reads position announcing sound data associated with the relativeposition condition which is determined by the relative positiondetermination unit 76 as satisfying the relative position condition fromthe position announcing sound data storage unit 72, and outputs a soundbased on the position announcing sound data via the sound output unit80.

In the following, a process to be carried out in the game machine 10will be described. FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts of the processaccording to the present invention among those to be carried out in thegame machine 10 for every predetermined period of time ( 1/60^(th) of asecond, for example). This process is realized by the microprocessor 14executing a program read from the DVD-ROM 25.

As shown in FIG. 9, initially, the game situation information stored inthe game situation information storage unit 70 is updated based on theoperation state of the controller 32 (S101). Then, a game screen imageis created in the VRAM (S102). Specifically, a game screen imagerepresentative of a picture obtained by viewing “the virtual threedimensional space 50 where the player object 56 and the ball object 62are placed based on the game situation information stored in the gamesituation information storage unit 70” from the virtual camera 64 iscreated in the VRAM. The game screen image created in the VRAM is outputto the monitor 18 for display at a predetermined timing.

Thereafter, a sound which announces the relative position of a teammateplayer object with no opponent player present nearby is output (S103 toS116).

Specifically, whether or not the operation target player object holdsthe ball object 62 is initially determined (S103). When it is determinedthat the operation target player object holds the ball object 62,whether or not there is any teammate player object who should beannounced to the game player as a teammate player object to whom to passthe ball is then determined (S104). Here, the “teammate player objectwho should be announced to the game player as a teammate player objectto whom to pass the ball” refers to a teammate player object having noopponent player object present nearby. In this embodiment, it isdetermined for every teammate player object whether or not there is anyopponent player object in an area within a predetermined distance fromthat teammate player object to thereby determine whether or not there isany teammate player having no opponent player object present in an areawithin a predetermined distance from that teammate player.

When there is a teammate player object who should be announced to thegame player as a teammate player object to whom to pass the ball (a passtarget teammate player object), a position announcement target teammateplayer object is selected (S105). For example, when there is one passtarget teammate player object, that teammate player object is selectedas a position announcement target. When there are two or more passtarget teammate player objects, the nearest teammate player object fromthe operation target player object is selected as a positionannouncement target.

Thereafter, whether or not the position announcement target teammateplayer object is located behind the operation target player object isdetermined (S106). When the position announcement target teammate playerobject is located behind the operation target player object, positionannouncing sound data A is read (S115).

Meanwhile, when the position announcement target teammate player objectis not located behind the operation target player object, whether or notthe position announcement target teammate player object is located onthe left side in view of the operation target player object isdetermined (S107). When the position announcement target teammate playerobject is located on the left side in view of the operation targetplayer object, whether or not that teammate player object is shown onthe game screen is then determined (S108). The determination as towhether or not the teammate player object is shown on the game screen ismade by calculating the position coordinates obtained by applyingperspective projection conversion to the position coordinates of thereference position 58 of the teammate player object, for example, to seewhether or not the calculated position coordinates are located withinthe game screen.

When it is determined that the position announcement target teammateplayer object is shown on the game screen, position announcing sounddata B is read (S111). Meanwhile, when it is determined that theposition announcement target teammate player object is not shown on thegame screen, position announcing sound data C is read (S112).

When it is determined at S107 that the position announcement targetteammate player object is not located on the left side in view of theoperation target player object, whether or not the position announcementtarget teammate player object is located on the right side in view ofthe operation target player object is then determined (S109). When it isdetermined that the position announcement target teammate player objectis located on the right side in view of the operation target playerobject, whether or not that teammate player object is shown on the gamescreen is then determined (S110). Then, when it is determined that theposition announcement target teammate player object is shown on the gamescreen, position announcing sound data D is read (S113). Meanwhile, whenit is determined that the position announcement target teammate playerobject is not shown on the game screen, position announcing sound data Eis read (S114). It should be noted that when it is determined at S109that the position announcement target teammate player object is notlocated on the right side from the point of view of the operation targetplayer object, that is, when the position announcement target teammateplayer object is located directly in front of the operation targetplayer object, no position announcing sound data is read, with thepresent process terminated.

In the case where the position announcing sound data is read at any ofS111 to S115, a sound based on the read position announcing sound datais output via the sound output unit 80 (S116).

As described above, in the game machine 10, when there is any teammateplayer object with no opponent player object present nearby, a soundwhich announces the relative position of that teammate player objectrelative to the reference position 58 and reference direction 60 of theoperation target player object is output. Thus, the game player canreadily know the relative position of the teammate player object with noopponent player object present nearby, and can smoothly control theoperation target player object so as to pass the ball to that teammateplayer object.

Also, in the game machine 10, a sound which announces differently isoutput even when similar announcement of relative positions is made,depending on whether or not the position announcement target teammateplayer object is shown on the game screen. The game player can thus knowwhether or not the position announcement target teammate player objectis shown on the game screen.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to theabove-described embodiment.

For example, the position announcing sound data storage unit 72 maystore position announcing sound data in association with the respectiveareas relative to the reference position 58 and reference direction 60of the operation target player object. More specifically, the areas maybe defined as shown in FIG. 11, for example, and the respective areasmay be stored in association with the respective position announcingsound data as shown in FIG. 12. In other words, position announcingsound data may be stored in association with the angle formed by thereference direction 60 (ahead direction) of the operation target playerobject and the direction directing from the position of the operationtarget player object to the position of the concerned teammate playerobject. Here, the areas “1” and “2” refer to the areas shown on the gamescreen, while the areas “3” to “7” refer to the areas not shown on thegame screen. The above-described relative areas may be defined infurther detail depending on the distance from the operation targetplayer object.

In this case, when a position announcement target teammate player objectis selected (S105), an area which contains the position of that teammateplayer position is determined and a sound based on the positionannouncing sound data associated with that area may be output in theprocess shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Specifically, an angle formed by thereference direction 60 of the operation target player object and thedirection directing from the position of the operation target playerobject to the position of the position announcement target teammateplayer object is obtained, and a sound based on the position announcingsound data associated with the range which contains that angle may beoutput.

Also, for example, with a sound output based on the position announcingsound data, whether or not the ball is passed in the direction announcedby the sound may be determined so that subsequent output of a soundbased on the position announcing sound data may be restricted dependingon the result of the determination. Specifically, the number of timesthat a determination that the ball is not passed in the directionannounced by the sound is made may be counted so that subsequent outputof a sound based on the position announcing sound data may be restricteddepending on the number. For example, with the counted number havingreached a predetermined number of times, output of a sound based on theposition announcing sound data may be suppressed.

The aforementioned number of times may be counted for each teammateplayer object. That is, when the position announcement target teammateplayer object is selected followed by output of a sound based on theposition announcing sound data, but the ball is not passed in thedirection announced by the sound, the counter corresponding to thatteammate player object may be incremented. When the counter valuecorresponding to the teammate player object reaches a predeterminedvalue, output of a sound related to that teammate player object based onthe position announcing sound data may be restricted. For example, theteammate player object having a counter value having reached apredetermined value may not be thereafter selected as a positionannouncement target. Should the teammate player object be selected as aposition announcement target, output of a sound based on the positionannouncing sound data may be suppressed.

Also, for example, a coalition parameter indicative of the trained levelof each teammate player object in coalition play with the operationtarget player object may be stored, and output of a sound based on theposition announcing sound data of that teammate player object may berestricted based on the coalition parameter value of that teammateplayer object. For example, for a teammate player object having acoalition parameter value smaller than a predetermined value, output ofa sound based on the position announcing sound data may be suppressed.The coalition parameter value of a teammate player object may varyduring the game. For example, the coalition parameter value of ateammate player object may increase upon successful passing of the ballbetween the operation target player object and that teammate playerobject.

The virtual game space created in the main memory 26 of the game machine10 is not limited to a virtual three dimensional space defined usingthree coordinate elements, for example, but may be a two dimensionalvirtual space defined using two coordinate elements.

The soccer game (sport game) to be carried out in the game machine 10 isnot limited to so-called stand-alone game, for example, but may be anetwork game to be played with game players of other game machines 10connected via a communication network. In this case, a plurality ofplayers may cooperatively operate one team.

Application of the present invention is not limited to a soccer game,for example, and the present invention can be applied to various sportgames, including a basketball game and an ice hockey game, for example.

Although it is described in the above that the program is supplied froma DVD-ROM 25 or an information storage medium to the consumer gamemachine 11, the program may be distributed via a communication networkto a home or the like. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an overall structureof a program distribution system using a communication network.Referring to FIG. 13, a program distribution method according to thepresent invention will be described. As shown, the program distributionsystem 100 comprises a game database 102, a server 104, a communicationnetwork 106, a personal computer 108, a consumer game machine 110, and aPDA (a personal digital assistant) 112. Among those structural elements,the game database 102 and the server 104 together constitute a programdistribution device 114. The communication network 106 comprises, forexample, the Internet and/or a cable television network. In this system,the game database 102 (an information storage medium) stores a programhaving content identical to that recorded in the DVD-ROM 25. Then, whenthe user wishing to obtain a game requests game distribution, using thepersonal computer 108, the consumer game machine 110, the PDA 112, orthe like, the request is transmitted via the communication network 106to the server 104. In response to the game distribution request, theserver 104 then reads the program from the game database 102, and sendsto the entity, such as the personal computer 108, the consumer gamemachine 110, the PDA 112, or the like, which has made the gamedistribution request. Here, although it is described in the above thatgame distribution is carried out in response to a game distributionrequest, the server 104 may send a game unidirectionally. Also, allprograms necessary to realize the game are not necessarily distributedall at once (collective distribution), but only game componentsnecessary according to a particular aspect of the game may bedistributed (divided distribution). As described above, gamedistribution via the communication network 106 makes it possible for theuser wishing to obtain a program to readily obtain the program.

What is claimed is:
 1. A game machine for displaying a game screen imageshowing a picture obtained by viewing, from a predetermined viewpoint, avirtual three dimensional space where an operation target player objectwhich moves according to an operation carried out by a game player and aplurality of teammate player objects belonging to the same team as ateam to which the operation target player object belongs are placed, tothereby provide a sport game to be played by the team to which theoperation target player object belongs and an opponent team, the gamemachine comprising: a position announcing sound data storage unit thatstores position announcing sound data in association with a combinationof a first condition and a second condition, the first conditionconcerning both a position of the teammate player object relative to aposition of the operation target player object and a lateral directionof the teammate player object relative to a reference direction of theoperation target player object, and the second condition being anindication whether or not the teammate player object is displayed on thegame screen; a position announcement target selection unit that selectsa position announcement target teammate player object from among theplurality of teammate player objects; a first determination unit thatdetermines whether the relative position of the teammate player objectselected by the position announcement target selection unit, relative tothe position and reference direction of the operation target playerobject, satisfies the first condition associated with the positionannouncing sound data; a second determination unit that determineswhether the teammate player object selected by the position announcementtarget selection unit satisfies the second condition associated with theposition announcing sound data; and a position announcing sound outputcontrol unit that outputs a sound based on the position announcing sounddata in the case where the combination of the first condition and thesecond condition associated with the position announcing sound data issatisfied.
 2. The game machine according to claim 1, wherein an opponentplayer object belonging to the opponent team is placed in the virtualthree dimensional space, and the position announcement target selectionunit determines whether to select the teammate player object as aposition announcement target based on a position of the teammate playerobject and a position of the opponent player object.
 3. A game machinecontrol method for controlling a game machine for displaying a gamescreen image showing a picture obtained by viewing, from a predeterminedviewpoint, a virtual three dimensional space where an operation targetplayer object which moves according to an operation carried out by agame player and a plurality of teammate player objects belonging to thesame team as a team to which the operation target player object belongsare placed, to thereby provide a sport game to be played by the team towhich the operation target player object belongs and an opponent team,the method comprising: selecting in a processor a teammate player objectas a position announcement target from among the plurality of teammateplayer objects; reading content stored in position announcing sound datastorage unit that stores position announcing sound data in associationwith a combination of a first condition and a second condition, thefirst condition concerning both a position of the teammate player objectrelative to a position of the operation target player object and alateral direction of the teammate player object relative to a referencedirection of the operation target player object, and the secondcondition being an indication whether or not the teammate player objectis displayed on the game screen; first determining in a processorwhether the relative position of the teammate player object selected atthe selecting, relative to the position and the reference direction ofthe operation target player object, satisfies the first conditionassociated with the position announcing sound data; second determiningin a processor whether the teammate player object selected at theselecting satisfies the second condition associated with the positionannouncing sound data; and causing a sound output unit to output a soundbased on the position announcing sound data in the case where thecombination of the first condition and the second condition associatedwith the position announcing sound data is satisfied.
 4. Anon-transitory computer readable information storage medium recording aprogram containing executable instructions for causing a computer tooperate as a game machine for displaying a game screen image showing apicture obtained by viewing from a predetermined viewpoint a virtualthree dimensional space where an operation target player object whichmoves according to an operation carried out by a game player and aplurality of teammate player objects belonging to the same team as ateam to which the operation target player object belongs are placed, tothereby provide a sport game to be played by the team to which theoperation target player object belongs and an opponent team, the programfurther causing the computer to: read content stored in positionannouncing sound data storage means for storing position announcingsound data in association with a combination of a first condition and asecond condition, the first condition concerning both a position of theteammate player object relative to a position of the operation targetplayer object and a lateral direction of the teammate player objectrelative to a reference direction of the operation target player object,and the second condition being an indication whether or not the teammateplayer object is displayed on the game screen; select a positionannouncement target teammate player object from among the plurality ofteammate player objects; determine whether or not the relative positionof the position announcement target teammate player object, relative tothe position and reference direction of the operation target playerobject, satisfies the relative position condition associated with theposition announcing sound data; determine whether the positionannouncement target teammate player object satisfies the secondcondition associated with the position announcing sound data; and outputa sound based on the position announcing sound data in the case wherethe combination of the first condition and the second conditionassociated with the position announcing sound data is satisfied.
 5. Thegame machine according to claim 1, wherein an opponent player objectbelonging to the opponent team is placed in the virtual threedimensional space, and the position announcement target selection unitdetermines whether to select the teammate player object as a positionannouncement target based on a position of the teammate player objectand a position of the opponent player object.
 6. The game machine ofclaim 1, wherein the position announcing sound data storage unit storesthe position announcing sound data based on an angle formed between thereference direction of the operation target player object and theposition of the teammate player object.
 7. The game machine of claim 1,wherein lateral direction of the teammate player object is one of aplurality of areas defined based on preset angles relative to thereference direction.
 8. The game control method of claim 3, whereinlateral direction of the teammate player object is one of a plurality ofareas defined based on preset angles relative to the referencedirection.
 9. The computer readable medium of claim 4, wherein lateraldirection of the teammate player object is one of a plurality of areasdefined based on preset angles relative to the reference direction. 10.A game machine for displaying a game screen image showing a portion of acomputer-controlled virtual three dimensional space representing asports game that includes an operation target character objectcontrolled by an operation of a user and a plurality ofcomputer-controlled teammate character objects, the game machinecomprising: at least one microprocessor that selects a teammatecharacter object, determines in a first determination a position of theselected teammate character object relative to a position of theoperation target character object, determines in a second determinationa lateral direction of the selected teammate character object relativeto a reference direction of the operation target character object, anddetermines in a third determination whether the teammate playercharacter object is currently displayed in the game screen image; andthe at least one microprocessor outputs a pre-stored sound indicative ofa position of the teammate character object based on the firstdetermination, the second determination, and the third determination.11. The game machine according to claim 10, wherein the firstdetermination and the second determination together indicate an angulararea of a plurality of angular areas relative to the operation targetcharacter object in which the teammate player object is located, and theat least one microprocessor outputs the pre-stored sound indicative ofthe position of the teammate character object based on the indicatedangular area and the third determination.
 12. A game machine controlmethod for controlling a game machine including at least onemicroprocessor for displaying a game screen image showing a portion of acomputer-controlled virtual three dimensional space representing asports game that includes an operation target character objectcontrolled by an operation of a user and a plurality ofcomputer-controlled teammate character objects, the game machine controlmethod comprising: selecting, by the at least one microprocessor, ateammate character object; determining, by the at least onemicroprocessor, in a first determination a position of the selectedteammate character object relative to a position of the operation targetcharacter object; determining, by the at least one microprocessor, in asecond determination a lateral direction of the selected teammatecharacter object relative to a reference direction of the operationtarget character object; determining, by the at least onemicroprocessor, in a third determination whether the teammate playercharacter object is currently displayed in the game screen image; andoutputting, by the at least one microprocessor in conjunction with astorage, a pre-stored sound indicative of a position of the teammatecharacter object based on the first determination, the seconddetermination, and the third determination.
 13. The game machine controlmethod according to claim 12, wherein the first determination and thesecond determination together indicate an angular area of a plurality ofangular areas relative to the operation target character object in whichthe teammate player object is located, and the pre-stored soundindicative of the position of the teammate character object is outputbased on the indicated angular area and the third determination.
 14. Anon-transitory computer readable information storage medium recording aprogram containing executable instructions for causing a computer tooperate as a game machine for displaying a game screen image showing aportion of a computer-controlled virtual three dimensional spacerepresenting a sports game that includes an operation target characterobject controlled by an operation of a user and a plurality ofcomputer-controlled teammate character objects, the program furthercausing the computer to: select a teammate character object; determinein a first determination a position of the selected teammate characterobject relative to a position of the operation target character object,determine in a second determination a lateral direction of the selectedteammate character object relative to a reference direction of theoperation target character object, and determine in a thirddetermination whether the teammate player character object is currentlydisplayed in the game screen image; and output a pre-stored soundindicative of a position of the teammate character object based on thefirst determination, the second determination, and the thirddetermination.
 15. The computer readable information storage mediumaccording to claim 14, wherein the first determination and the seconddetermination together indicate an angular area of a plurality ofangular areas relative to the operation target character object in whichthe teammate player object is located, and the pre-stored soundindicative of the position of the teammate character object is outputbased on the indicated angular area and the third determination.